Rita Ora files suit against Jay Z's label
Rita Ora wants out of Jay Z's Roc Nation.
With his streaming service Tidal still struggling to take root, British singer Rita Ora has filed a lawsuit against Jay Z's label, Roc Nation.
Basically, she wants out.
According to Billboard and The Wrap, the pop star (and judge on the U.K. version of The Voice) filed a complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court stating the recording agreement she signed in 2008 at the age of 18 with Roc Nation violates California law and is unenforceable.
In the suit, Ora states she wants out of her contract having been "orphaned" from Roc Nation, a "diminished" record label with "only a handful" of "superstar artists." She also claims Jay Z's focus has turned to other pursuits, from his sports agency to Tidal (which recently debuted 12 new songs from Prince).
"When Rita signed, Roc Nation and its senior executives were very involved with her as an artist," the complaint reads. "As Roc Nation's interests diversified, there were fewer resources available and the company suffered a revolving door of executives. Rita's remaining supporters at the label left or moved on to other activities, to the point where she no longer had a relationship with anyone at the company."
Ora also claims she's become a one-woman pop star machine, shelling out for her own recording costs, videos and TV appearances.
She is suing under California's "seven-year rule," a section of the state's labor code that stipulates a court cannot enforce a personal service contract after seven calendar years from when the deal began. According to Rolling Stone, most record industry disputes involving the "seven-year rule" have ended in a settlement or a renegotiated deal.
Ora released her first album under Roc Nation, Ora, in 2012. This year she had a supporting role in Fifty Shades of Grey, and in August released a new single, Body on Me with Chris Brown. A sophomore album has yet to follow.
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